Finding Your OFF Mode
Summer vacation notices are popping up in Vonda's inbox — Flower Clique members setting out-of-office replies and blocking off real time away — and it makes her genuinely happy. It's the perfect excuse for this week's topic: how do you actually put yourself in off mode? Not "fly to France" off mode. The 15-minutes-a-day kind that any flower shop owner can pull off between deliveries. But first, Lori has a hack to share.
The forgot-your-name hack (use before your friends hear this episode)
Heading into a season full of industry events, Lori found an article with a rescue move for the moment everyone dreads: someone greets you warmly by name, and theirs has completely vanished from your brain. When you finally admit, "I'm sorry, I can't remember your name," and they say "John" — you reply, "Oh, I knew it was John, I just couldn't remember your last name." If they lead with the last name, flip it. Whichever half they offer, you knew that half. It softens the blow for both of you. The hosts also work out a wing-woman protocol: if you see your co-host stalling on an introduction, swoop in with "Hi, I'm Vonda LaFever — I don't believe we've met," and rescue the whole conversation. (The only flaw, as Vonda points out: now everyone who listens to the podcast will know exactly what's happening.)
Does switching jobs count as a break?
Vonda raises an honest objection: when she disconnects from Flower Clique to spend ten days deep in AIFD duties, she's off one job and fully on another. Does that count? Lori's answer — delivered "in love" — is no. A real mental break means being still, and stillness is precisely what busy, driven people avoid. It's the reason Vonda can't sit through a movie. Doing something you love isn't the same as giving your mind a rest, especially when it comes with responsibility attached.
What off mode can look like
The hosts trade a list meant to spark your own version. For Lori it's her swimming pool — even 30 minutes floating with no phone, no speaker, no music, just quiet ("I'm like that old 85-year-old woman — can you turn it down? I just want the birds"). For Vonda it's power washing, and — no judgment — washing dishes: hands busy, warm water, no technology, just you and your mind. Others from the list: a gratitude journal (it's only for you, so it doesn't have to make sense), gardening if that's joy rather than chore, cooking when you want to and not when you're forced, escaping somewhere remote to walk or hike, driving with the radio off, getting up early — or sleeping late with zero shame if your body needs it. Vonda adds one more: go outside at night and just look up.
The most powerful item is turning off technology, and Lori has fresh proof. On her recent trip to Ireland she had no cell service outside the hotel, and after a day of genuine panic, something flipped. She sat with her coffee looking at the ocean, kept looking up instead of down, and realized how attached she'd been. The kicker for florists: hiking without a phone, she noticed so many flowers and color combinations that she and Audrey later spent half an hour googling what they were. Disconnecting didn't take her away from her work — it inspired it. The same thing happened when Cammy took a long weekend after the May rush and came back feeling like a new person.
Bring off mode into your shop
Lori's suggestion for owners: make mindfulness part of your check-ins this summer. Not meditation breaks on the clock — just a quick "were you able to get any off-mode time this week, or were you stressed the whole time?" It plants the idea that rest makes everyone more productive. And sometimes the break is hiding inside the workday: plenty of owners know the peace of saying "I'm going out to take this delivery." One shop's designer is never happier than when she's delivery driving with the window down and her arm out. Ask your employees who wants that break — and maybe have them swing through Dairy Queen for the team on the way back.
Want to catch Vonda and Lori in person? They shared that they'll be presenting "The $2,000 Tulip" — on the value of flowers and how to sell — at the Texas State Florists' forum in San Antonio, then AIFD Symposium in Orlando, and SAF in August.
Key takeaways
- Off mode doesn't require a vacation — start with 15 minutes a day of genuine stillness, no phone.
- Switching from one job to another you love isn't a mental break; being still is the actual skill.
- Disconnecting from technology often loops back into creative inspiration for your floral work.
- Add a rest question to employee check-ins, and offer breaks inside the workday — like taking a delivery run.
- When you forget a name, claim the half they didn't just tell you: "I knew it was John — I just couldn't remember your last name."